A member of the famous Williams family of painters, Kate, Elizabeth was born on 17th December 1843 at 100 Corner Street, the only daughter of Arthur Gilbert and sister of Horace Walter Gilbert.
She married a schoolmaster Humphrey Hughes, whom she had known from childhood, when they lived next door to each other in Barnes.
She received her instruction in art from her father and exhibited one painting at the Society of British Artists in 1885 and other examples are known. These are signed ‘Kate Gilbert’, although mostly dated well after her marriage.
She made an attractive use of colour in her paintings and often accompanied her father on his sketching tours.
Her works are rarer than most other members of the Williams family.